‘Modern’ Education Purpose: Money or Ethics

I have been reading a lot on the 2008 mortgage crisis and the subsequent blame game that followed. Almost a decade later, it is now widely accepted that the people responsible for the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression were the wall-street bankers and the executives of public institutions like Federal Bank, AIG, etc. These wall-street and Washington honchos are some of the most highly paid and revered employees in the world. Invariably all of them possess degree(s) from the most prestigious universities — Harvard, Stanford, LSE, Oxford, IITs, IIMs, etc. Needless to say, they are smart, competent and highly qualified individuals. Moreover, they command high social status and prestige. The society accords them huge respect and millions of teenagers aspire to become like them. However, it is an irony that the same overachievers failed the global economy.

Unfortunately, none of these executives had to go through the ordeal of indictments, trials or jail time. Collectively they were responsible for the great recession of 2008–12, decline in consumer wealth of trillions of US dollars and downturn in economic activity. Yet, the Government bailed out the ‘too-big-to-fail’ companies and the Judiciary let free the ‘too-educated-to-jail’ individuals.

This fact makes me sad and angry, like many other common men and women of the world. It made me the question the high value ascribed to ‘modern’ education. All of us wants to go to an Ivy League or an Oxford or an IIT or an IIM. For most, the aim is simple and rational — to earn money. But, what if the pursuit of wealth actually makes us corrupt and evil and criminal? What purpose did the ‘modern’ education serve in such cases? Should the financial aspirations of people necessarily subdue their moral character? More importantly, should ethics be anyway a component of ‘modern’ education?

I witness this on my day-to-day life. The more educationally qualified a person is, the less empathy she shows to fellow human beings. Her world revolves around social status, new fashion, high-end restaurants, micro-breweries, latest gadgets and holiday plans. The thought of 3.6 billion poor people seldom comes to the person’s mind. Sadly, the self-obsessive and self-indulgent behaviour actually makes the person a villain. A greedy, selfish, sociopath who has very little to contribute to the world.

I believe our ‘modern’ education system has failed to make the world a better place to live. Unethical behaviour is encouraged and self-serving attitude is rewarded. This education system will be the root cause of the apocalypse, if it ever comes!

Siddharth Sekhar Barpanda

Public Policy analyst. Writings on political-economy, rule of law, history and society!

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade